It is the season for sending greeting cards and for horse lovers equine cards are the way to go!

I now have eight ecards in the Christmas category and seven in the Happy Holidays category and three in the New Year category.

I displaying a few of the Holiday ecards below to give you a quick peek at what some of them look like. Of course to see them full size and you have to visit the Horse Art eCard page.

Equine Holiday Greeting Cards

Horse Art Holiday Greeting Cards to send online – No envelopes to lick, no stamps to buy, just fun, easy and instant.

These ecards are great to send out to your family, friends, clients, and hopeful clients. Everyone loves receiving a beautiful Christmas greeting cards and these are postage free!

If you are planning a Holiday Party or Christmas Event these ecards are a great way to invite your guests

Two horses headed for death saved and made into greeting cards.

I just thought that I would share with you a little background information on a couple of the horses who’s photos appear in the Horse Art eCards. Both of these horses had a rough start in life and were about to be auctioned for horse meat, but kind and loving people rescued them and they are now living the good life.

“Shiloh” Percheron/Belgian cross

(Photo posted in the “Wise Words” ecard category in Horse Art eCards.)

“…for those who aren’t aware…Dan and I adopted Shiloh from a rescue in Kentucky when she was 17 days old…she would have been sent to slaughter had she not been rescued. She is a Percheron/Belgian cross and 3.5 yrs old now and once she’s clean…a real beauty! Just goes to show ya…that thar bucket feeding her milk sure goes a long way! LOL )

She and Dan are doing very well with their schooling to drive….we are very excited to get Shiloh “graduated” and back home to take ‘er for a spin!”

- Marian Mastin of Adopt A Foal – Mon, 11 Dec 2006

“DOC HUDSON” Quarterhorse

(Photos posted in the ecard categories of “Wise Words”, “Love”, and “Christmas” in Horse Art eCards.)

“I wanted to tell you what Alina (the little girl in the photos) was telling Doc in that picture – she later told her MiMi that she was telling Doc, “Doc, you and me are going to grow big together.” Pretty good looking quarter horse who was rescued from and saved from going to auction – he is from grand champion cutting stock and because he was raised around Pasos – he thinks he’s one. Too funny!

My dad started round penning him in August and he is the smartest baby (foal) they have ever come across. As different people come through the barn, they all ooh & aah over Doc and now the owner of the barn regrets getting rid of him. Different cutting trainers have been in and out of the barn and immediately spot him. They are curious about his bloodlines and when told who he is out of they can’t believe how my parents acquired him. Now he has a permanent home and he and my daughter will be reunited in about a years time so they can grow big together.

Sadly most of the horses (14 in all, purebred with fantastic papers) went to auction some for as little as $75 to $350 (for a mare with a newborn) all with papers! One Peppy Sand Badger son (stallion) sold for $225, hopefully he found a good home.” (The caretaker of these horses died and owners were elderly and couldn’t care for the horse properly and they were in poor condition.)

- Jeannine Wargacki of Paso Americana – Fri, 1 Dec 2006

What can you learn from these two stories that may help your horse business?

Here are a few things I take from this info:

1. From these two stories and others I have read and heard, there seems like quite a few nice horses are being sent to auctions with a good chance they will end up being bought and sold for horse meat.
2. Purebred horses with good to great bloodlines show up at the auction barns regularly.
3. Since most people in the market for a horse are looking for one ready to ride most of the young foals, studs, broodmares, and untrained horses are short on buyers and have the highest chance of going to slaughter.
4. The main people that bid on horses in poor condition are the killers. People buy with their eyes and want horses that look and move great.
5. People desire horses they can handle and ride so the more training the horse has more willing they are to part with good money for them.
6. Surroundings count big time! Take a diamond ring — if it is glittering on black velvet in a classy uptown jewelry store window people will perceive its value as higher than if they viewed the same ring at a yard sale. Same goes for where people view a horse for sale.

So lets see…

If you want to received the best price (most profit) for your horses and take the lest chance they will end up slaughter bound you have to do as many of the following as possible…

• Sell what people are looking for — what is in demand, horse wise, for your area? What training, bloodlines, breeds of horses, color of horses, etc…
• Put as much training as you can on your horses. Even if you are selling foals a halter trained foal that will trailer load and allow his hooves to be trimmed will pull more interest than a foal that hasn’t been touched. And a foal that has been imprint trained at birth and given daily handling will make a better horse and gain more looks and money.
• A horse that is easy to handle and ride has a much better chance of staying in a home for a many years or maybe life and has far less chance of being bid on by the killers if he should ever end up in an auction.
• Love your horses? Then consider selling them with a buy back option.
• Pay attention to your horses health and condition. The better they look the higher their perceived value. They don’t have to be a halter horse to shine like one. Learn about horse nutrition because it can make a huge difference in how your horse looks.
• The setting counts. A man was trying to sell his horse and he wasn’t getting many interested buyers until he started to board his horse in a popular show barn. His horse seemed a better value when displayed in a winning barn surrounded by champions. If you have a farm look at it with new eyes and see where you can polish the setting. Consider a nice looking sign with flowers at the entrance. Fly flags with your logo imprinted on them. Maintain the paint on the buildings and kept everything clean and orderly.
• Only breed the best to the best! There seems to be just too many horses around and that drops the prices of all but the very top ones. Breed less, breed better, train more, market better.
• Take great photos or pay someone that can.
• Give people all the info they need and be truthful about the horse.
• Learn more about marketing your horses and your horse business. Never stop learning. This is especially important if you breed a not so popular breed or sell young untrained stock.
• Seriously consider getting out of the horse breeding business. You don’t have to breed horses to have a horse related business and make money. Consider all the other options that allow you to be around horses but without adding to the over population problem.
• Put your new found knowledge into action.

Learn to Market your Equestrian Business…

Selling 101 for Equestrians – How to Quickly and Safely Sell Your Horse

Covers advertising and marketing, about how to write advertisement, adding pictures, pricing, and other things to do to sell your horse, local and off line actions.

“The Law Of Attraction” For Equestrians Teleclass
Why You Get What You Get With Your Horse And In Your Life

PR for Equine Biz Teleseminar with Sherry Busch, of RiskOutWest.com

I would love a day to come where there are no horses going to slaughter but until then we can all play a part in helping save horses by spreading this info. I would love to hear your thoughts on this, especially if you have any more helpful horse business tips. Just comment on this posting.

P.S. If you would love to see one of your favorite horse photos posted as a Horse Art eCard email me a clear, sharp, good looking horse photo to info (at) alove4horses.com with “Horse Pics” in the subject line. Also let me know who is in the photo and who took the photo and your web site address to post in small text in the ecard image.

Happy New Year!

2006 is galloping in with our prancing desires for the New Year, but before focusing on the new, let’s show our appreciation of last year’s gifts‚Ķ

I give heartfelt thanks…

“For the complaining customers, for they give me the gift of info on how I can make my business better and so few people take the time to give me this gift.”

“For the horse that wants to turn for home a little too fast, because he is telling me I have to work harder at making our outings more pleasurable for him.”

“For my wife, husband, or children who grumble about < --more-->my spending too much time with the horses, because they are telling me they desire and enjoy my company.”

“For the straws of hay that work their way into my entire wardrobe, because it reminds me of how lucky I am to be able to enjoy the company of horses.”

“For the sweat that forms while doing my barn chores, for it is telling me how fortunate I am to be able to work hard!”

“For the wind chapped, sun burned face, and aching butt after a long trail ride, for too few people have the opportunity to trail ride at all!”

“For the huge piles of horse manure, for it is Black Gold that the earth’s soil requires for giving life.”

And finally…

“For the horse who’s coat shines with health, munching hay in his stall, because it means I have enough money to care for him well.”

“I am truly thankful for all these gifts, and I know that my heart of gratitude is attracting more blessing for me to treasure in this coming year.”

I am thankful for you, and I would like to show my appreciation by creating more Happy New Year Horse Art eCards.

I hope you enjoy sending my Horse eCards to your special people…

http://alove4horses.com/greetings

Enjoy!

* HOT TIPS *

New Year’s Resolutions Tips…

I want you to achieve more of your desires in the coming year so here are a few tips…

1. Create a Plan (yes, planning really helps)
   Step by step plans help you walk your goals up the ramp and into the trailer and on your way. Break the steps down into small doable actions.
2. Create your plan immediately
   Take action now and create your plan before your motivation to change gets caught in the carriage wheel spokes of life. Most people forget their New Year resolutions completely after only a few days, don’t join this crowd. Create your action plan now!
3. Write Your Plan of Action
   Commit your plan in writing someplace where you will be sure to notice it often, such as a notebook, journal, and/or computer date planner program.I love the following program for helping me keep track of my goals…
   “Chaos’ !intellect”, a great planner/calendar/date/time program
   http://www.chaossoftware.com
   (No, I don’t make any money if you buy it, but it helps you run your life and business better, so I recommend it. I use it daily.)
4. Consider the whole year
   Just as you cannot condition a horse in one day you cannot accomplish your goals in a day either. New Year’s resolutions are just your starting point. It is essential that you develop a habit of checking your plan on a daily basis.And finally…
5. Keep your plan supple
   Life is CHANGE, so you have to stay flexible with your business planning and give yourself backup plans because not everything is going to go your way on the first try. Learn to recognize and appreciate little successes for these build to larger goal accomplishments.

GOOD LUCK starts with planning a better future and working your plan!

Newsletter Copyright 2006 Joni Solis – A Love for Horses
All rights reserved.

Greeting Cards, ecards, horse ecards, horse greeting cards, new year, new year ecards, new year greeting cards

Holiday Greeting Card with Horse Art

Hi, I know am a bit late but I have been galloping full out to get this done for the holiday season. I am talking about my NEW HORSE ART ECARDS that you can send instantly through your computer to your friends, family, clients, or potential customers. No envelopes and no buying stamps. Fun and easy, and everyone loves to receive greeting cards.

I have just created seven new EQUINE CHRISTMAS greeting cards and would love for you to check them out here…

Equine Holiday Greeting Cards

I rushed to get this program running so please let me know how you like this new eCard service and the new greeting cards so far. These card images are much larger than my past ecards and include a quote or wise words. I will be adding more cards soon and hopefully quite regularly.

I would love to have any of your suggestions for the horse images and horse quotes, poems, and /or text for the cards.

Happy Holidays!

P.S. Oh, yes, this is a free eCard service without any of those horrible pop-up ads like some many other ecard services. So enjoy and take the time TODAY to send out your Happy Holidays greetings with Horse Art eCards!

By the way, I just wanted to notify you that I can design custom eCard images with your own horses’ photos and company logo/info — they make fabulous photo ads that you can insert in your outgoing HTML email messages!